The Business Works If You Work It?

 The Amway business works if you work it! That's what many Amway enthusiasts will claim. I do not believe that is true and I will further explain in this post. Many IBOs who claim that the business works are usually new and are unable to show any evidence that the business works, except perhaps to show a photocopied check from an upline diamond or the like. To date, no Amway IBO who posts on this blog as shown evidence that Amway works. And there is no evidence that hard work results in Amway success.  All we have are cute anecdotal stories that don't hold up to scrutiny and real questions.

Let me make a disclaimer that some people might be able to make significant money from Amway, but most of those folks are usually tenured diamonds who are almost in an exclusive club. There is only a short list of new diamonds that I know of in the US, and I have heard that even these new diamonds may have had legs in other countries. It would seem that Amway is not growing much in the US and Canada. Also of note, Amway does not release figures that are separate between Amway North America and the rest of their overseas operations, so information is limited.

Ok, so Amway enthusiasts claim that the business works if you work it. Business in its simplest form is selling a product or service for a profit. Yet many IBOs spend so much of their time doing other things that produce no business income or potential income, as advised by their upline "mentors" who sell them training materials that take up much of their valuable time. Listening to audios/cds, attending functions, reading books, and other training activities not only costs the IBO money, but takes up valuable time in non-income producing activities. Nobody makes sales reading books or attending seminars. Inviting people to see "the plan" may be a way to help generate volume but with Amway's reputation, even this is a hit and (mostly) miss activity. 

Many IBOs spend almost all of their time doing these activities (the work) when they could be better off not getting the training and focusing on selling the Amway products and services. Even that comes with a handicap as Amway products as a whole, costs a lot more than purchasing similar or the same products as a big retailer such as Costco or Walmart. It is why most IBOs eventually get discouraged and quit far before the promoted 2–5-year plan. 

Few people will even bother to see the plan once you mention "Amway" and for those who are open minded and motivated to register end up having to deal with a hard to sell opportunity along with high priced common commodities such as soap, vitamins and energy drinks. It's pretty easy to see that the business does not work, even for most of those who actually work it. There are simply too many issues with the business that handicaps those brave enough to try. It seems even the fiercest defenders of Amway are unable to provide a shred of evidence that they have actually made a profit from this opportunity.

Behind The Scenes?

 One of the things that the Amway Diamonds and some other leaders do to attract new Amway IBOs and potential recruits is to put on a dog and pony show. They want prospects to think that you can consume Amway products and get others to follow your lead, and, in a few years, you will be set for life financially, speaking on stages and securing the future for generations to come. They might use props such as pictures of mansions. slideshows of cars, jets, yachts. It looks impressive but based on what I know now, who knows whether the diamonds actually own this stuff or if they are simply showing you a slideshow of "lifestyles of the rich and famous". The reality is very likely that many diamonds are actually living in debt or bonus check to bonus check. It is a fact that more than half of NBA basketball pros end up broke less than 5 years after they retire, and they earn tons more cash than diamonds. Why would a diamond be different than the average Joe, especially when they appear to live beyond their means?

In the few cases where diamond income was exposed, we can see that they were not making the kind of money they would have you believe.  A Triple diamond (documented) was making about half a million a year from Amway. A nice income for sure, but not what people would think, and not enough to save that diamond from chapter 7 bankruptcy. Another WWDB diamond apparently lost a home to foreclosure. Another diamond, unnamed but documented in the book "Amway Motivational Organizations, Behind the Smoke and Mirrors", talks about a diamond who had a gross income of over 3 million dollars, and a net of about $320,000. This diamond was in debt, had back taxes owed to the government, and was working hard to portray the diamond lifestyle while living in serious debt.  The diamond income cannot sustain the lifestyle of the uber wealthy, no matter what your upline tells you.  

Some of these leaders also use religion or Christianity as a means to justify their involvement in the business. For those who know, the Bible is clear that the love of money can lead to destruction. When you have functions, such as Dream Night, what does that say? I would also like to note that in cases where these diamond's financials were exposed, there were no significant contributions to charity. I wonder if these charlatans talk a good game but do not contribute time or money to worthy causes? Where are the ten thousand dollar checks they talk about donating to charity? These leaders often refer to themselves as mentors, but any help they provide to downline results in some kind of compensation for them. This is not a mentor, but more like a paid consultant who is not getting effective results.  

Behind the nice suits and the glitz of the functions, I believe that IBOs and prospects would see a world they truly would not want to be a part of. A world where deceit is needed in order to succeed. Where you take advantage of the very people who trust in you. Where you pretend to be wealthy and free, but in reality, a slave to the mighty dollar. Where you traded a 9-5 job for a job that works the graveyard shift. If you look objectively behind the scenes, you might see what I see.

Ignore Those Facts?

 One of the crazy things that our WWDB upline taught the group was that the facts don't matter when you have a dream. There is evidence that this is still taught today and in particular, I have heard that from Amway IBOs who claim to associate with WWDB. IBOs are taught to ignore facts because the facts make their Amway businesses look like a joke. Spend $300 a month on products to gain a $10 rebate when you could have bought the same or similar products at Walmart for a fraction of the cost. Then many IBOs spend another $200 or more on tools and functions so they can be taught to ignore facts and that all of this is somehow a great deal.

Any real business owner would never ignore facts. A real business owner makes decisions based on facts. IBOs are being duped into making business decisions on emotions and hype. The Amway opportunity already is already saturated with handicaps and challenges, particularly in the US and Canada, where the reputations and previous antics of fellow IBOs has so stained Amway's name that it appears to be negatively affecting sales and preventing any meaningful growth. Despite what Amway apologists claim, Amway is very likely shrinking in the US, and will continue to do so unless improvements and corrections are made, in my opinion. It's also possible that it is too late to right the ship at this point.

It is also why many IBOs talk about how Amway saves marriages, or Amway made them nicer people. Uplines will teach this because it takes a business owner's focus away from their bottom line, the profit or loss. Or IBOs are taught that a loss just means they are investing in their business, despite being told upfront that there is little, or no investment needed and that a profit can be turned quickly in Amway. These uplines have gone on for years with no accountability placed upon them by either Amway or their downlines. Any "incidents" are simply ignored, or history revised by uplines.

There is one blog on the internet, where a WWDB IBO is writing about buying homes in cash, and Amway IBOs having a 2% divorce rate compared to more than 50% in the rest of the world, yet you have Amway defenders claiming this isn't being taught, when clearly it is. Cover it up all you want; the evidence is right there but these folks aren't interested in the facts.

Why are Amway IBOs ignoring facts? A better question is why Amway IBOs would listen to a "mentor" who teaches them to ignore facts?

LOL!

 If only I got paid for each time some IBO came here shooting off their mouths, I’d be uber wealthy!  How many times have I heard that I’ll be sorry and in a few months some newbie will be retired at the age of 29 making 10k per month or more?   How many times have I heard that so and so will be diamond and will be back to rub it in my face.   Well, I’m still standing and waiting.  Truth be told, I've never even experienced anyone even returning to the forum to say they went 1000 PV, let alone diamond.   I recall one IBO calling me names because he was going to retire as a double eagle ruby.  Well, he quit Amway completely less than a full year later.

I recall a newbie Amway IBO offering me a wager that his diamond makes more money while taking a crap in the morning than I make all year.  When I showed the math, that IBO disappeared never to be heard from again.  What is the math?   Well, if a diamond makes (for example) $2 million dollars a year, and comparing it to a dreaded j-o-b working 160 hours a month, then a diamond's pay would be about $1041 an hour when comparing to a job.  So if the diamond spends a full hour taking a crap. he would earn about $1041.  What many folks don’t get is that many diamonds don’t make that much money and even if they have a nice income, they likely make much of it from selling function tickets and standing orders and not necessarily from Amway.   But the bigger point is that the IBOs take what upline says at face value without vetting statements for themselves.     

Also, a diamond lifestyle if you will, is a life of excess that likely has many diamonds living check to check and possibly living in debt themselves.  Do the math yourself.  Try and look how much it costs to fly first class for a family of four.  Are speaking fees so lucrative that diamond families fly first class all the time?  The math says no.  A family of four flying first class domestically might cost in the range of $20,000.  Do you really believe that diamonds fly all over the world on a regular basis first class?  I highly doubt it.

I’ve also heard reports of big pins living in below average neighborhoods and there were some diamonds who had homes foreclosed and one triple diamond who filed chapter 7 bankruptcy some years ago.  As information is easier to get, I’ve also heard about Amway functions getting smaller and groups shrinking.  That means the diamond lifestyle is even harder to maintain than ever.  I wish I could say I feel sorry for the diamonds but all I can say is LOL.   😃

The Struggle Is Real?

 There's been much debate recently over the issue of IBOs selling products. Now of course in the IBO world, there are going to be some IBOs who are exceptional at selling products and possibly in foreign countries where Amway has not spoiled their reputation as it apparently has in North America, it might be possible to sell some products. But the experience of a typical IBO probably cannot be one where products flow to customers regularly. Now I do not wish to debate the merits of whether or not downline are considered customers as that is an endless and pointless debate because the bottom line would be that uplines are making their income on the backs of their downline, thus confirming the appearance of a product pyramid. Aside from downline, it would appear that the remaining customers are mostly sympathetic family and friends who buy a few token products.

But why do rank and file IBOs struggle to sell Amway products? Surely Amway has some decent and some good products. But in North America, Amway's goods are generic in nature but sell at premium prices. So, unless you are convinced that their quality is that great for the price, the average Joe is simply going to buy a similar product at Walmart or a Costco. Also, when you must justify and explain to potential customers that you actually provide a better value due to concentration and/or cost per use, it not only becomes labor intensive, but confusing for the average consumer. Add in the past reputation of the Amway name being associated with a scam or a pyramid and you have an extremely tough sell.

Partner stores are often used by IBOs to bring name credibility, but I wonder how many of these products are actually sold to customers?  I suspect that very few products are sold because the price is not that competitive and because many consumers, like myself prefer to touch and feel certain products before making a decision to buy. Even with a money back guarantee, customers don't want to be bothered with returning something via the mail. Also, the term partner store seems odd because Amway IBOs sell partner store goods, but "partner" stores don't sell Amway products. The relationship is not a two-way street, in other words.

Also, while Amway recently started to market their opportunity and goods with national advertising, I believe the advertising is more of a retention issue. IBOs can say "see, we're on TV, we must be credible". I believe it may be too late in North America. In the past. IBOs would say they had greater bonuses because Amway saved money on advertising. Thus, IBOs engaged in the most inefficient manner of moving products. They did it person to person and in the past, door to door. The reason why super bowl commercials are so expensive is because they can reach tens or hundreds of millions of people worldwide. But basically, Amway IBOs to sell the products and the opportunity, must do it one person at a time, and they must also overcome the many negative opinions that North Americans have about Amway. Amway sales have been tanking since 2013. Amway revenues have gone from 11.8 billion at its peak in 2013 and dropped each year with 8.6 billion in 2017 being the most recent numbers.

But it is for these reasons that IBOs probably cannot move many products except to some family and friends. In what REAL business can you make a sustainable living, much less fabulous wealth by selling some goods to family and friends? I can't think of any, and you are seriously mislead if you think you can do this with Amway products and earn untold wealth and riches.

Where Is The Success And The $$$$$????

 When I was a young Amway IBO, I saw the plan and thought it was realistic and very possible to go direct and to find six (6) downlines who could do the same thing. I didn't know the realistic chances of doing this, but the presentation made sense, at least on paper so I went with it. I basically built my group on excitement, and it seemed like the system could work. Sadly, as I climbed the ranks, my bottom line did not change. I did not "net" $200 at the 1000 PV level, and I did not "net" $1000 a month at 4000 PV as my upline taught. I had the parameters they taught, but the reality was my leaders taught everyone to pump what little profits we earned into buying more tools.  Buying more tools was also the solution to a failing business and it was also the answer for a growing Amway business.  (See what's going on here?) 

My Amway/WWDB leaders also taught people to get out of debt, which seemed to be good advice on the surface, but at the same time, any disposable income left over was to be channeled into tools, and for those who did not escape debt, they were told it was okay to go deeper in debt, but only if it was to "invest" in their businesses by purchasing more tools. Thus, it certainly appears that upline's advice was purely self-serving and had nothing to do with an IBO's individual success.  Upline's advice was aimed at their own success, although it was with ill-gotten gains now that I look back at it.

I was in WWDB, and they (upline) said that WWDB was breaking the most new diamonds and that WWDB diamonds were the most profitable. So here it is more than 20 years later, where are all these new diamonds? Aside from foreign diamonds, there are (I believe) less than 4 new diamonds from WWDB in the US from the time I left the business. Now I may be wrong, but even it was a few more than 4 new diamonds, that is a miserable success rate given the amount of cash spent by downline on tools and the claims made my upline about the tools. Where is the fruit on the tree that WWDB leaders used to speak of? Conversely, I've seen WWDB divorces, home foreclosures and a chapter 7 bankruptcy from a fairly prominent diamond.  Add this in, how would these people know who was the most profitable in Amway when their answer was "none of your business", if you asked them how much money they made.

Where is the integrity and financial acumen these leaders boasted about? Where is the success and long-term financial security available to everyone that was touted? I believe more diamonds and emeralds fell out of qualification than new pins emerged. The business was promoted as one that would stand the test of time. Sadly, I believe WWDB, and the Amway opportunity as promoted by WWDB has been a miserable failure. There is little success to speak of, just the same old tired diamonds showing off a lifestyle that some of them apparently can no longer afford. Where is the success?

It is years later and we are still waiting.......

Climbing A Pyramid?

 Let me start out by saying that Amway, at least to the letter of the law, appears to be a perfectly legal company. Therefore, I am not saying or implying that Amway is illegal. But I believe that the way Amway businesses are run, are like pyramids. In most groups, you will have the lowest level IBOs efforts and tool purchases being responsible for the upline bonuses and tools income. Many many IBOs are fooled into thinking that the ability to surpass your upline or that you don't get paid to recruit downline makes this a good deal. Think about it for a bit. Aren't most Amway gatherings about motivation and recruiting?

Unless you have a very very rare group where actual product sales to non-IBOs is sufficient to cover the costs of running your business, functions and all, then it is true that the lower level IBO's jobs are the primary source of income for the uplines. How many groups are like that where selling is nearly exclusively to retail customers and not downline? None that I have ever seen or know of. In fact, how often do IBOs even sell enough products to cover their expenses for even one month out of the year? The groups that teach "buy from yourself" end up doing the most financial damage to their groups because the downline's expenses are then covered exclusively from the downlines jobs, bank accounts, or drive the downline into debt. 

I've seen and discussed group structures in forums many times and I can only conclude that tool sales easily wipe out what little profits/bonuses some of the downlines might receive. Only when an IBO is able to sponsor enough downline to absorb the losses for them will they finally break even or make a little profit. I would guess that the 4000 PV level or platinum is where a dedicated CORE IBO would break even and possibly start to make a small profit.  On the other hand, a hard-CORE dedicated IBO can still lose money at 4000 or at platinum.    But we also know that most platinum groups have 100 or more IBOs in order to generate 7500 PV. Thus, we can also conclude that less than 1% of IBOs make a net profit. The only way IBOs can earn a net profit at a lower level is to avoid purchasing tools and to avoid paying for functions. Those who get involved in a system such as WWDB or N21 almost guarantee that they will have a net loss. 

Sure, my job may have a pyramid structure with the CEO making the most money. But the difference is that in a company, even the lowest paid employee still receives a paycheck and has money at the end of the month. The same claim cannot be made by IBOs. For these reasons, I believe Amway to be a product pyramid. IBOs and information seekers are free to participate, but I challenge them to sit down and really analyze their ability to make a net profit. In most cases, the analysis won't be favorable. If you are in the US in particular, you may have great difficulty in even being able to discuss "Amway" without getting strange looks your way from others. Good luck in whatever you decide

Are You Brainwashed?

 Sometimes it happens to the nicest of people and it often happens slowly and subtly. These are the signs that you are becoming indoctrinated, and you are likely annoying your friends and loved ones at this point. I hope this helps you. But seriously, the Amway IBOs begin to believe anything upline tells them and they begin to act out what they are taught and are in danger of becoming Amway zombies.  Upline says to trust them but in the end, they have no accountability in the process, despite many IBOs spending thousands of dollars to learn their foolproof methods.   Here are some of the warning signs;

*You're driven to recruit everyone you know. You may even resort to deception or outright lies to get people to meetings. Before you know it, your family and friends avoid you like the plague. You end up spending time at malls and other public places such as Starbucks desperately stalking and scouting for recruits. Much of your time is spent doing this activity when you're not getting more brainwashed at rah rah meetings.  This becomes a big part of your life as an IBO and much time is spent on these activities.

*You're encouraged to develop an unreasonable, irrational zeal for the products. Even so far as to justify the quality of toilet paper or to call the products prestigious. You may even argue the quality of energy drinks or about phytonutrients, something you may not even know about. You even argue about concentration values in dish soap or laundry detergent.  These are not conversations that normal people have.  But it's common for IBOs.

*A whole bunch of demands, promises, subtle threats of failure if you don't try hard enough are made in the promotional material and motivational seminars. i.e. If you quit, you are a loser destined to die broke and unhappy. Or you let someone steal your dream. These ridiculous claims are how your upline keeps you hooked. There is constant pressure to never quit and to keep on pimping Amway to recruits.

*Because the system is touted as the way you're going to make yourself fantastically rich, you're under constant pressure to drop any conflicting or competing interests such as your bowling league or golf club. Nothing else in life has importance except for the quest of financial freedom. All activities in your life must enhance your Amway business and have an effect on your financial future. No other activities matter to you unless it affects your dream filled Amway financial future.   All other activities are secondary, even your friends and family.

*Your upline soon becomes your most trusted friend. Your thoughts and feelings are shaped in part by the cds, meetings and functions.

These are the warning signs.   Ignore them at your peril.

Why Amway IBOs Fail?

 One of the things touted by many upline leaders as the "key to success" is CORE. I have outlined the elements of CORE here. I believe most AMO groups teach CORE as the key to success.   There is no verifiable evidence that following these methods will result in sustainable success in Amway.  It is more a tool used by upline to extract tool and function money from downline;

1 - Show the Plan 

2 - Retail the Products 

3 - Tapes/cds 

4 - Books 

5 - Functions 

6 - Accountability 

7 - Counsel with Upline (Be teachable!) 

8 - Buy 100% of your own products 

9 – Communikate   (voicemail)  Who the heck needs a voicemail subscription anymore?

In these nine steps, only #2 may actually net the IBO a profit, but this step is not emphasized in many groups. Some leaders gloss over this step and instead, promote "buy from yourself". In all the other core steps, you either spend time and/or money doing things that do not produce income for your business. If you, as an IBO spend most of your time in non-income producing activities, guess what? You will suffer losses. It is no wonder nearly all IBOs lose money, they are taught to spend most of their time in activities that do not produce income! 

Imagine owning a brick-and-mortar store where you open the store for one hour a day. The rest of the day you are reading books, listening to tapes/cds, and paying to attend seminars and listening to voicemail messages. Oh, and in addition to opening your store for an hour a day, you don't advertise except for word of mouth. Could you survive in business? I think not. Amway now advertises, but you are not Amway, you are an independent business. 

So can an IBO make money by spending most of his/her time in non-income producing activity?   The answer is quite obvious to me.

Return On Investment (ROI)?

 So many IBOs are taught that they need to constantly invest in their businesses. The investments, however, aren't on equipment, employees, rent, or on advertising. In a typical Amway business, the investments that uplines often refer to are voicemail subscription, standing order, website fees, seminars and books. In many cases, an IBO keeps on investing in these materials without making an assessment on whether or not the investment was worth the money or if they are actually generating more business as a result of the investment.  This is why in my opinion, uplines don't teach about the return on your investment, or (ROI).  They don't want you to look at your Amway business with a critical eye.  They want you to just keep the faith and unquestioningly continue to "keep going".

I find it ironic that many Amway recruiters will hype the Amway business as one of low risk and little or no overhead. But when an IBO starts to get truly interested, suddenly an investment of money is vital to the success of their business. IBOs get caught up in the excitement of starting a business and they pour money into their shiny new Amway businesses, often without understanding the purpose of the investment, because they are following the advice of their experienced uplines. Eventually, most IBOs will realize that they aren't making money, so they stop building the business and eventually quit. This is confirmed by the fact that over 90% of IBOs do not last 5 years and less than half of registered IBOs last even a full year.

For most, they will never recoup even their first months' worth of investments, even with a honest and earnest effort of building the business. Most IBOs never even make enough income to cover their voicemail bills. It is sad that uplines dupe their faithful followers into believing that their tools will help them succeed as IBOs. There is ZERO unbiased evidence that voicemail, functions and other materials do anything to help an IBO to make a substantial profit from the Amway business. It is my educated opinion that training materials sold by uplines have the exact opposite effect. The training materials and functions suck money out of an IBO's business and goes to the upline in the form of support materials profits.

For most IBOs, there is little to no return on their investment. What has voicemail or a standing order done for your business? Ask yourself an honest question. What tangible result have you seen in your business as a result of attending a function or listening to a standing order? If there was any result, is it a one time phenomena or are the functions resulting in continued growth of downline and business volume? Even if you did see a small increase in volume for example, was it enough to justify taking a perhaps out of town trip by air and hotel expenses just for a small volume increase? Do the never-ending standing orders result in your downline and volume growing or simply your bank account shrinking?

Any real business owner will look at expenses and make sure that any investments into their business results in more customers or more revenue. If not, then that expense is shut down and other options looked at. Since many IBOs don't have any customers or very few customers, is it worth your time and money to attend functions? Is standing order increasing your monthly volume or bonuses? This is not to persuade IBOs to quit, but simply food for thought so that IBOs will truly use their "business mentality" and decide for themselves if support materials vis a vis an "investment" in their Amway business is paying off or not. If not, you are enjoying a hobby called Amway. Hobbies cost you money, but they rarely make you money. Is Amway a business or a hobby?

The Legal Loophole?

 There's been some interesting debate, although not that recently (you'd have to search for it at this point.  Search Amway and scam.), on the James Randi Educational Forum (JREF). Most call Amway a scam and one prolific defender cites the point that IBOs are not Amway. And Amway doesn't sell training materials. While that is legally true, the owner of Amway, back in 1983 acknowledged that the sale of tools was, basically unethical and possibly illegal. However, inaction by the Amway corporation led to the heyday of the tool scam and financial abuse of downline. There's the loophole that covers Amway. IBOs are independent.

However, these same IBO leaders could not run free scamming downline if Amway were to intervene. I believe Amway doesn't take any apparent significant action for fear that these leaders would move their groups to another MLM. The result over the years is a lousy reputation in the US where the name Amway is associated with pyramid, scam and other undesirables. I suppose Amway has survived though, because of a saying by PT Barnum. There's a sucker born every minute. I suppose there are enough pockets of young or unsuspecting people who can still be convinced to join, so it's business as usual.

Which brings to to the next point. Unfortunately, new IBOs are basically suckers. They pay a fee to Amway, in order to become an unpaid Amway salesperson. You absorb your own time and expenses in order to move Amway products, and if you move enough of them, you can get a minimal bonus. You also at your own time and expense, recruit other unpaid salespeople for Amway. Your reward for this is you get credited for a portion of their sales, provided they use or actually sell anything. Most IBOs do little or nothing so your efforts are usually in vain.

But the real trick is to have IBO leaders convince downline that voicemail and cds and live meetings (seminars) can actually help you succeed. There is zero unbiased evidence to suggest that this training or tools do anything but make handsome profits for the people who sell them. Even if many IBOs sign up and do nothing, there are enough serious ones to support the pharoah diamond leaders. And food for thought, do IBOs really need voicemail in an age of email, twitter, facebook and other more efficient means of communication?

So yes, Amway IBOs are not Amway. Amway diamond leaders are not Amway.

But if Amway cannot or will not stop those who taint their name, then they simply must live with the reputation of being a scam or a pyramid. They can be legal to the letter of the law, but most people see it for what it is. Being legal doesn't necessarily mean ethical or moral. It is my opinion that when you sign up for Amway, you are nearly assured of losing money. It's not your fault though, it is the result of a bad system. I encourage everyone to do their due diligence before joining any business, Amway notwithstanding.

How To Annoy Your Family And Friends?

 Many people see the Amway plan and get unrealistic dreams of attaining incredible material wealth and retiring in a few years. I find it strange that nobody has been able to point out anyone who actually got in, worked a few years and then walked away from the business and is now enjoying buckets of cash rolling in while they spend their days on exotic beaches sipping mai tais. The more likely scenario will be debt, higher credit card bills, and boxes of unused cds and other various products. Can anyone really dispute this? It seems to be a pretty common claim among former Amway IBOs.

So why would someone joining the business become annoying? It's because to the average person, it becomes clear that to achieve this, you need to find "six" people. Thus, to find six people, you need to make contacts to show the plan. Cold contacts of people on the street would be unlikely, even for the boldest of people, so new IBOs start looking at people they know. They start with people they are familiar with, or family and friends. They may also think their family and friends will want to get rich with them. And that's when you friends and family begin to get annoyed when you pepper them with Amway related BS.

Sadly, for most new and enthusiastic IBOs, they will find that they are shunned by family and friends. Over the years, IBOs have done too much damage to Amway's reputation and overcoming this challenge is too much for the rank-and-file IBOs. They will hear stories on failures and opinions that Amway is a pyramid and/or a scam. Of course, IBOs will have "canned" answers to respond to from their upline. One of the humorous ones is that Amway is praised by the BBB or the FTC and is the shining example of an MLM. To those familiar with this line of reasoning, it can become side splitting humorous. Sure, the diamond may ask the rank and file to use his credibility to be able to recruit downline but, in the end, the results are generally futile.

At first, the family and friends may humor the new IBO, but relentless persistence can eventually turn ugly. This is where uplines will teach the new IBOs to avoid "negative" and to shun these family and friends. This is why some people charge the Amway leaders with being cult - like. It's at about this point where IBOs might realize that Amway products are costly and try to sell off some of them to reduce their own costs. Often times, sympathetic family and friends might make a token purchase to show support. but that can get old in a hurry also. Most IBOs will eventually quit and make amends with family and friends, but some lose friendships for good.

To information seekers and new IBOs, hopefully this message is food for thought....

The Least Efficient Business?

 I remember seeing the plan as a prospect back over a dozen years ago. I remember the speaker talking about how you can capitalize on distribution efficiencies to make money. We as IBOs would simply cut out the middleman and that savings would be passed onto us as IBOs. In its simplest form, it made sense and and misconception passed onto the audience that you will actually save money by purchasing Amway products. I even remember the speakers saying that even if the whole world signed up for Amway, even the last guy getting would have the benefit of saving money. Looking back now, much of it was deception and lies. And to think, people now and back then paid good money for training on how to become, in my opinion, the least efficient manner in which to move products.

We recently enjoyed the Superbowl. And as you know, super bowl commercials can cost millions of dollars. But do you know why? It's because hundreds of millions of people across the world are tuned into the super bowl. Companies probably have their best staff working on developing these commercials because they want to leave a lasting impression on their viewers. And it apparently works because people today are still willing to shell out serious coin for these commercials.

Amway IBOs advertise person to person, one person at a time.

What are the chances of an IBO ever moving a significant number of products or being able to reach out to potential new downline when they prospect person to person, face to face, one at a time? To me, that is the most inefficient manner of expanding business. And let's face it, Amway's rules don't help when you are not supposed to advertise online without special permissions, and you are not supposed to sell product on Ebay or Craigslist. In today's technological society, it seems almost crippling to be so inefficient.

And even your beloved uplines, at your expense, run the most inefficient manner of doing business. Who needs voicemail when we have facebook, email, twitter or text messaging? Not to mention the added expense IBOs face by these outdated technologies. Also, with video conferencing, skype, or webcams, why do people need to travel long distances for meetings and functions? The answer is simple, your upline might not want your success, they simply might just want your money. All of the training and motivation is a profit center for upline, and modernizing would simply reduce their tool profits.

Try asking that of your upline. Why do we keep using the most expensive and inefficient means of doing business and communicating? I'd be curious to hear that answer.

How You Get Wealthy In Amway?

 A comment left on my blog inspired this article. The comment was that basically, IBO's are "donating" to their upline on a monthly basis. You start by donating upline in the form of monthly purchases. Your 100 PV is roughly equal to $300 and most of the bonus generated by that volume goes somewhere upline. This will go on forever until you either quit and stop buying, or unless you somehow manage to sponsor enough downline who will then "donate" to you.

If you attend those open meetings, you are again donating to the upline's coffers. As an IBO, I was strongly encouraged to attend these meetings even if I had no new prospects to bring. And of course, there was an entrance fee at the door. I don't think this was a major profit center but still, a room with perhaps 1000 attendees = $6000 collected and a room with chairs and a speaker doesn't cost that much for an evening.

If you purchase standing orders, you are donating to your upline on a weekly basis. If the upline can reproduce audios for 50 cents or even a dollar a piece, this is a very healthy profit center. Also, most upline recommend that you listen to a cd/audio each day, thus you need to purchase some additional audios/cds in addition to the standing orders.

Voicemail and book of the month are also monthly donations. Who in the world needs voicemail these days? But uplines still recommend it as they make some serious coin from it. The book of the month might have some value but the uplines are still making profits from these. Think about it, these diamonds claim they want your success but they make you pay for just about any help you receive, regardless of whether that help is beneficial to your business or not. By Amway rules, your sponsor is supposed to train and motivate you free of charge.

The regional and major functions are like the monthly fund raisers for the diamonds. Major functions can have thousand or tens of thousands of people in attendance. If they pay $100 (or more) each, it is a serious money maker for upline. A convention center or arena has costs in running events but those costs (while they vary) might be $10 to $25 per person. The rest is pure profit for the diamonds.

All in all, the profit margin is much higher for these tools and functions than from Amway products. Thus it's perfectly reasonable to think that the diamonds can make much more money from selling tools than from Amway itself. For groups where current qualifications are not required for a cut of the tools, these diamonds might make nearly all of their money from tools and functions. It's more like a diamond fundraiser than a function to help IBO's. Afterall, who gets the biggest financial benefit from the tools and functions? The diamonds or the IBO's?

You Can't Handle The Truth?

 One of the silly things many Amway IBOs are taught is to avoid negative. I believe this is taught today by uplines and it was certainly a point of emphasis even in my days as an IBO. The upline diamond would say that the world of full of negatives and that we as people take in too much of these negatives. Therefore, the IBOs were told to avoid television, newspapers and other forms of communication with the outside world. The group was also told to avoid people who speak negatively about Amway. For this reason, many people have considered Amway groups such as WWDB or N21 as cultish or cult-like. (information deprivation or information control). It's ridiculous to be apathetic about current events and important local news because you deem it as "negative". If you live in the Midwest, you certainly need to know if a tornado is heading your way. Or if you live in Hawaii like me, you need to know if a hurricane is heading your way. To avoid news because you see it as "negative" is stupid and ignorant.

I can agree that you surely don't want to only take in negatives as it can wear you down, but not seeing the news or reading about current events in the paper simply makes you apathetic and uninformed. For example, wouldn't you want and need to know if there was an escaped criminal roaming your neighborhood? Avoiding news could be very detrimental to your family and home. Do you avoid the doctor because his assessment of your health might not be "positive"? For these reasons, I believe that many Amwayers walk around wearing a mask with a false smile, trying to overly positive. But this behavior is detrimental to IBOs, not helpful.

Another important thing that many IBOs cannot distinguish is the difference between negative and the truth. If your wife asks you if her new dress makes her look fat, the truth might be that the new dress indeed makes her appear fat. That answer may be uncomfortable for you to deliver, but the truth is the truth. The truth at times can be positive or negative but it is still the truth. IBOs seem to be unable to make this distinction.

Most IBOs earn less than $100 a month. That is the truth. Most IBOs lose money if they participate in functions and standing orders and such. That is the truth. Most IBOs will never even sponsor a downline. That is the truth. Most IBOs, filled with motivation and dreams, will never see those dreams fulfilled. That is the truth. Many upline diamonds, who advise IBOs to purchase tools and attend functions, and fill the IBO's heads full of dreams, make significant incomes from the sale of tools and functions. That is also the truth. In a 1 year timespan, approximately 50% of all IBOs will quit. That is the truth. You can't build a business with residual income where 50% of people constantly quit. That is also the truth.

Is it negative to tell the truth? Or can IBOs not handle the truth?

Why People Believe?

 Many IBOs cannot be convinced that Amway is not the best opportunity in the world, because they want to believe the lies/deception that is often used when they are recruited. They want to believe that 2-5 years of part time effort will result in lifelong residual income and that they will be traveling to the beaches of the world while cash keeps rolling in. They want to believe that they can ditch their (often) less than adequate jobs. They want to believe that a part time soap business will make all of this possible. The people (upline) who claim to have everyone's best interest at heart will sell them a proven system of success and all they need to do is follow the steps to success.

Many people sign up for Amway and do absolutely nothing. They may not ever order or try products. But these folks do not complain about Amway and the expenses they may incur are minimal. Most do not even bother to seek a refund on their starter kit. It makes me wonder why these folks even bother to sign up. Although, there are stories of people being pestered into registering. Anyway, the part where this business gets dicey is when people register and do put in an earnest effort, only to end up with financial losses. Sometimes the losses are in the tens of thousands of dollars. You get squeezed for a couple of hundreds of dollars a month and after a few years of effort, you can find yourself drowning in debt, even after doing everything your upline advised. The fact that uplines don't disclose their business financials speaks volumes. Former uplines who have come forward have shown that most of their income was from hawking standing orders and seminars, and not from Amway sales as they would imply.

I bought into the hype at one time. I believed the lies. I believed my upline that no profit was made from tools. At the time I was an IBO, I too, wanted to believe that I could work part time for 2-5 years and ditch my job. That I would retire at the age of 35 and live in luxury forever. I wanted to believe that. But having reached the 4000 PV level, the precipice of platinum, I also realized that I had no profit. I sat down and did the math and realized that they would be little profit at platinum. I came to the realization that a second job would have suited me better. I finally quit when I realized this, along with my upline wanting total control of my life. But I hung in as long as I did because I wanted to believe that Amway would be the vehicle that delivered my financial freedom.

Having dropped out of Amway, my life quickly got back to normal. Friends that I had avoided returned to my life. My disposable income increased, and my cash flow was positive once again, now that I was no longer obligated to purchase tools. I also noticed many years later, that the same old leaders on stage were still working as hard as ever, and none of them had taken the option to retire and walk the beaches of the world. Perhaps these leaders also want to - or have to believe in Amway because they have already invested too much time and effort to call it quits and start something else. I wanted to believe, but the fact is that people were not succeeding. People were not getting free. What I saw was home foreclosures, bankruptcies and financial struggles made worse for people because of Amway and the tool systems. And apparently, these same issues apply to the diamonds. Do your research and you will likely find the same conclusion that I did. That Amway is an impossible dream.

Never Quit! Success Is Right Around The Corner?

 When I was an Amway IBO some years back, I heard the saying over and over. Never quit, success might be right around the corner. There were countless stories by diamonds and emeralds of how they were on the verge of quitting, but stuck it out and somehow "made it". I also heard stories about why people should not quit because even if you were told "no" a thousand times, the next prospect might say "yes" and turn your entire business around. This mindset is almost like a gambler who thinks the next hand or the next roll of the dice will suddenly start the beginning of a good run.  In the meantime, business losses start to add up and like a gambler, an IBO has to weigh the risk of pressing on or cutting your losses and quitting.  I might add that quitting is not the end of your goals and dreams.  It just means that Amway didn't get you there so you need a new venue.

I believe these experiences are all heartfelt stories. However, I believe that many stories are embellished and made to order. Or in other words, made to fit a standing order. If you listen carefully to many of the standing orders, you will notice that the higher pins were consistently sponsoring people and generally achieved the platinum level in 18 months or less. There are exceptions of course, but the majority of stories I heard seem to have had the same theme. Those who were destined for success achieved some significant level in less than 2 years.

But for IBOs and new recruits, if you aren't constantly bringing in new people to the open meetings, and sponsoring new people, then you are very unlikely to ever achieve much in Amway. Statistically, less than one half of one percent ever reach platinum. Thus if you are unable to grow your organization or group, then you are unlikely to be that one who "makes it". Success is not around the corner as some uplines will have you believe. If you take 100 "no's" and then someone finally says "yes" then chances are that person who said yes, will "do nothing", or do little and wind up quitting. Chances are that person won't sponsor anyone or show anyone the plan. Chances are that person won't even be in the business a year later.

It might be a good idea for IBOs to take a step back and take an unbiased look at their business and their business activities. Is your group growing consistently? Is your volume increasing each month? Are you able to get people interested in seeing the plan on a consistent basis? If you answered "no" to any of these points, then you are unlikely to progress and achieve in the Amway business.

One important thing for people to note is that there are many ways to achieve your financial goals and dreams. Amway is probably not the best vehicle for most. The numbers speak for themselves. If less than one half of one percent ever reach platinum, where allegedly, IBOs finally see a profit, then I would say your chances of success are better elsewhere, even if that is a second job. The average "active" IBO earns about $200 a month according to Amway. Considering all IBOs, then the average income is probably about $100 a month. You can earn much more than that working 4-5 hours a week at minimum wage.

Is success right around the corner? I doubt it.

A Bad Upline Leads To Failure?

 A comment left on this blog stated that perhaps I had a bad upline, which may have led to my bad experience in Amway. While this may be true, I have to ask how anyone can possibly know who might be a good or a bad upline? As far as I know, all of the Lines Of Sponsorship such as WWDB or BWW or Network21 sell tools which consists of books, cds/audios, functions, meetings and voicemail. They all earn profits from the sale of these materials; thus they all promote these materials. I have heard that many uplines make more from selling tools than they do from Amway.

It makes perfect sense that some upline would make more money on tools than from Amway because the tools have a larger profit margin than Amway products and because to promote these tools, the uplines must travel from city to city to run functions, thus taking time away from running their Amway businesses. And while they may say verbally that tools are an optional expense, many groups promote them as a DeFacto requirement. For example, I heard that tools were optional but so was success. Or that nobody ever succeeded without tools, but I could be the first to try. My sponsor also told me that Greg Duncan was a multi-millionaire and he thought that tools were vital but if I thought I knew better, I could try it on my own. What is a new IBO to think? It sure sounds like only a fool would try to build the business without tools.

What's also amusing in some ways, is to debate with Amway supporters or defenders who tell me that I simply had a bad upline, and then to find out that they have the same upline that I had! It amazes me because I was in WWDB and basically, the same leaders are on stage today. The same leaders who were on stage when I was an IBO. These leaders at one time told bold lies, such as nobody made a cent of profit on tools, or that WWDB was a non-profit organization. For some reason, IBOs don't seem concerned that upline leaders told these lies. They also mistakenly believe that everything upline tells them now is the truth.

IBOs even deny things that are of public record such as Greg Duncan's chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, or Brad Wolgamott's divorce. It seems that uplines just revise history and downlines believe it and do not ask questions or hold upline leaders accountable for their actions. I believe that these leaders should be held accountable and to a higher standard because they have profited handsomely over the years from the sale of tools. But another concern is the utter lack of success from the proven system. Where are the new diamonds? I cannot even think of more than a handful of new WWDB (My former LOS) diamonds from the US since I left the business in 1998 or so. And it might be noted that some diamonds have left since my time in the business.

So I ask the question again. How would an IBO or a prospect know what a bad upline is? Most find out when they finally see the light or when they notice the losses mounting month after month. I hope this blog helps information seekers to see the light.

"Sharp" Amway Prospects?

 One of the things taught to our group by upline was to recruit "sharp" people. And in general, I agree that many/most IBOs were sharp people. Most of them nice, motivated and wanting more in life. Certain Amway defenders wrongly claim that I am against Amway and IBOs to a degree where I am maniacal against them. I am not. I recall that most of my group and my cross line were mostly educated and had decent jobs. We all hoped to achieve the dream of walking away from our jobs and living in luxury. We got the idea that was very reasonable and achievable if only we did as upline advised and immersed ourselves in the "system", which in my case, was WWDB. We were told that WWDB had much fruit on its tree and at the time I was an IBO, that appeared to be true.

However, we did not know that some WWDB leaders made significant income from selling us tools. You see, we were lied to and speakers at major functions told the audience that nobody made a cent from tools and that upline makes pennies only after you earn dollars. We now know that this is not true and that these speakers were lying. What's more, these leaders were never made accountable for their lies. They just revised history and acted like nothing happened. Sadly, many downline IBOs simply accepted the explanation and continued to buy tools. Currently, the WWDB tree is getting barren, with little "fruit". There are very few new diamonds from WWDB in the US, and some of their more apparently dynamic leaders have left WWDB to start their own systems. Thus, it looks like WWDB is left with the same old tired speakers today, as the ones who were around prior to my involvement with Amway.

But what's puzzling, or maybe not, is why aren't there more successes if many, possibly most IBOs are "sharp" people? Surely large groups of smart and motivated people can accomplish much, but for whatever reason, they are unable to accomplish much in Amway and WWDB. In fact, many of these sharp people cannot sponsor a single downline and have difficulty in selling Amway products. After many years of blogging and analyzing the Amway opportunity, my conclusion is that Amway products are priced too highly and cannot compete with similar products on the open market. Sure, Amway defenders will cite quality or concentration as reasons why Amway is competitive, and in some cases, Amway is competitive, but the general public doesn't care, they just want cheap stuff and Walmart fulfills that need better than Amway. It leaves the majority of Amway sales being made to active business building IBOs. Apparently, the artificial need to buy Amway goods disappears when the diamond dream disappears.

Also, the crazy and sometimes deceptive behavior of past and some present IBOs gives the Amway name a bad reputation, making it difficult to get anyone to see the plan, and sponsoring becomes nearly impossible. It is for this reason, I believe Amway is growing in foreign countries and not in North America, where saturation has occurred. When you factor in all of these variables, it is easy to conclude that large groups of sharp people fail is not because they are not capable. It is because the Amway opportunity comes with so many handicaps that even sharp people cannot overcome them. It is why so many former IBOs, including myself, have done quite well for themselves after leaving Amway. Did I learn some things about business while in Amway? yes, I did learn some things of value, but I also learned that I was lied to and deceived by WWDB leaders and for that reason, my blog continues......

The Upline Charlatans?

 The really insidious part about some of the LOS leaders, such as the ones I had in WWDB, is that they apparently are cutthroat ruthless businessmen with nice suits, and disguised as your mentors and friends. They get you to trust them, and they will tell you that they have your best interest at heart, or that they would never purposely lead you astray. On the surface, you may think this is true, but look at their actions and you can easily discern that some of these uplines are absolutely ruthless businessmen who would take every cent from you if they could. I was in WWDB and I have good reasons to believe that they are still doing this, based on a WWDB IBO blog. On this blog, I see all the same teachings today, that I heard as an IBO and some of the same claims such as buying homes in cash. It's scary.

As an IBO, the diamonds would tell you to never miss a function, ever. The only good reason for missing a function was for your own funeral. I recall some cross line IBOs rearranging pre-planned anniversary parties, weddings, and other special family events in the name of being core and attending all functions. Some IBOs actually did quit their jobs to attend functions and they very well may have done so because some uplines taught this. IBOs were also encouraged and told to go into debt to attend a function. This was okay because it was an investment into your business.

Our group was also strongly encouraged to buy extra cds every week. To be core, you needed to listen to a cd each day and you cannot listen to the same one each day right? Couples were told to buy their own separate standing orders. Brad Duncan even had a true north tape (cd) that said sponsors were to eat the standing orders for downlines who quit because it was too much trouble to call upline who calls upline who calls upline to cancel a standing order. Oddly enough, they didn't mind upline calling upline calling upline to add a standing order.

In the end, I was lucky enough to have been progressing up the pin ranks so my losses were not that devastating. I ended up losing in my early months of the business but mostly broke even when I was at 4000 PV. Sadly though, my cross line did not fare so well. I know of one couple who declared bankruptcy. I don't know how much their WWDB involvement contributed to bankruptcy, but I am certain it was a major factor and I know of two couples who had homes foreclosed, and I believe that their allegiance to WWDB was a factor in those foreclosures. But I guess hey, two WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed so maybe they were duplicating?

Do not be fooled. The diamonds may have a nice smile and a nice suit, but they are ruthless businessmen who will take your last dime if you allow them to.

Total Amway Nonsense?

  One of the funniest and biggest crocks taught by upline under the guise of sound business advice was the buy from yourself nonsense.  Be your own best customer.   Buy from yourself at full retail and use the profits to pay for your tools and functions is the BS that was/is taught.  Think about it, if you buy from yourself, the biggest profit goes to Amway and your upline.  You get nothing unless you meet the minimum PV level and even if you pay yourself full retail, the money in your business account came from your own pocket.  All you did was move money from your bank account to your business account.

Upline fools you into thinking you are a business owner when in reality you are simple a customer of Amway and possibly your upline.  Have you ever heard of someone making millions using a cash back credit card which is similar to the concept that upline uses where you buy what you need and get a rebate from Amway?   While it sounds ridiculous, this is what upline is schlepping on their IBOS and sadly, many new IBOS fall for it.  They think they are following valuable advice from upline but they are just fooled into making bad decisions based on what's supposed to be sage advice. 

Unless you sell a lot of products to people who are not IBOS, all you are doing is making money from your down line, if you even make a net profit after paying for tools and functions.  Think about this concept carefully.  If you could buy your way to prosperity. You could simply buy 15,000 PV yourself and instantly become a ruby.  However, that much PV would cost nearly $50,000 dollars and your bonus money would not even cover half of cost of the PV you purchased.  So how is buying from yourself ever a great idea in business terms?  

Sure, upline will use the saying that you should support your own business.  That might be true to e point, but ask yourself these questions.  Why do the diamonds buy suits and other things that aren't in the Amway catalog?   Why do they expect the rank and file to do so?   Unless the product is actually produced by Amway, all you're doing is paying full retail to Amway partner stores when you could very likely buy the same product right at the store at a smaller cost that thru the Amway catalog.  So much for eliminating the middle man.

So if your upline advises this concept, you should ask tough questions and demand answers or run away from them as fast as you can.  Do the math.  I urge IBOS and prospects to heed this warning because uplines are also hurting in a tough economy, but they have you as their downline to exploit for income.  Beware!   😎

Visiting A Diamond?

 Some blog visitors have in the past, and recently, advised me to go and visit with a diamond or a platinum. That spending time with someone in the business would give me a different perspective. I'm not sure what my visitors thought I would accomplish by doing this. As an IBO, I spent countless hours with my upline platinum and on many occasions, my upline diamond. My honest opinion is that they were just average everyday people who made their living in a different manner than most. Their homes weren't fancier, they didn't drive special cars, they didn't have the kind of material wealth that's often portrayed in functions and meetings. and that's fine.

What I would challenge prospects and IBOs to do is just that. Ask to spend time with your upline platinum and/or diamond. You are likely to find ordinary people with ordinary lives outside of the business. So many people think that the upline platinums and higher live in the lap of luxury and it's not true, unless they are living beyond their means. I do believe that many upline leaders do live beyond their means. It is because showing off material wealth is a vital part in attracting and retaining IBOs. You show them material wealth and get people to dream about achieving the same thing in order to sign them up for Amway and the associated tools and training business. Sadly, the vast majority who register and attempt to build an empire will end up quitting, and most of them, especially the ones who attended the functions will end up with a net loss, even if they put in extraordinary amounts of time and effort. Sure, some people may eventually achieve higher levels in the business but they are the exception and not the rule.

In normal and in real business, one way to prove your results is to open your books and show your financial details. Your upline of course, will tell you that it is none of your business, but if you are being asked to invest your time and money into a business opportunity, you have every right to demand this information. If your prospective sponsor refuses to supply this information, it should be a red flag that they have something to hies. It seems that many IBOs embellish their income claims or try to change the discussion. They may even produce a photo copy of an upline's bonus check, but that proves nothing. What prospects and IBOs should demand is a profit and loss statement. It would give an idea of what expenses someone can expect as an IBO and what kind of income can be expected at various levels.

Joecool has no reason to visit a diamond. But I would certainly say that IBOs and prospects should do so. You might be surprised to find that a diamond is not "all that" when you see them up close and personal.

Amway Related Critical Mistakes?

 In professional sports, whether it be football, basketball or baseball, there are many close games. In close games, a critical mistake made will likely cost your team the game. A good example of this would be a football team trying score the winning touchdown, but they commit a game changing turnover. Or a baseball pitcher slip, and throws a fastball up in the zone and it gets hammered for a home run. Or a basketball player shooting fouls shots but missing in the last minute of the game. A critical mistake nearly assures you of failure.

In my opinion one of the most critical mistakes that many IBOs make is to ignore their bottom line when analyzing their Amway businesses. I recall, in my personal experience, business building IBOs, sadly, taught by their uplines to ignore losses, or to view losses as investments into their businesses, or that money is really not important, because you keep building the business and the "money will be there", which is not true. Some uplines may teach that the business is really about making friends or being a nicer person. All of these things may be nice side benefits of reading personal development books or attending functions, etc., but when running a business, the most important goal should be to turn a profit. The sole purpose of a business should be to sell a product or service for a profit. Period.

For many IBOs, their businesses consist of listening to standing orders, attending functions and meetings, but not focused on selling products and earning a net profit. And for most IBOs, nobody can blame them as upline may give them bad advice and because the Amway business is person to person selling, it is so inefficient that many groups end up teaching IBOs to simply buy their own volume and get others to join the business. For groups who operate primarily in this manner, you are probably running an illegal pyramid business because new and existing IBOs can profit only by continuing to add more downline IBOs in the hope that they too, will buy their own volume and sponsor others.

When you look carefully at the business plan, whether it is 6-4-2, 9-4-2 or some other variation, the majority of these business building IBOs will have low volume and likely to earn only about $10 a month. But to earn that $10 a month, you are likely to have to spend $300 on products, and if you are on standing order, voicemail and functions, then you likely spend anywhere from $150 to $250 monthly (or more) to participate in the teaching system. Thus, these IBO's bottom line is a net loss! It is only when you are able to sponsor many downlines that your losses will get smaller, and you will only profit when you have a sizable downline who makes PV purchases. That means your bottom line is a loss. And while Amway defenders will argue that Walmart doesn't even give you $10 a month, you can certainly get more products from Walmart for $300 than you can get from Amway for the same price. Walmart will match any advertised price on a product that they and a competitor may carry. Also, Walmart's advertising reaching millions of people, which is much more effective than person to person. While Amway runs some ads now days, they do not directly drive customers to IBOs. The vast majority of IBO business is still to themselves and their downline, and not to non-IBO customers.  Plus, you can earn cash shopping at WalMart if you have a cash back credit card.  LOL

I challenge IBOs to look objectively at their bottom lines. It is likely a net loss. If it is, ask your upline how long this is expected to last. Set hard goals and if you are doing what is advised by upline and results do not improve, you may have to ask yourself what will change to make your business profitable? Basically, if you aren't adding active downlines and customers regularly, you aren't going anywhere and are likely to be running your business at a loss month after month after month. It won't take long before you realize that you have lost thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. Uplines often say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

As a former IBO with a 4000 PV business with eagle parameters, I was not making a net profit. I saw my bottom line and although doing and achieving what my upline advised, there was little to no money. I decided the effort, time and money invested wasn't worth it. Plus my upline started to interfere in my personal life. I saw my bottom line and wasn't satisfied, and I left Amway. I later discovered the lies my upline had fed me to keep me in the business and to keep me buying tools. It is why I started blogging. For now, my bottom line is to get the truth out about the tools scam run by upline. That is Joecool's bottom line.

What Is Your Amway Business Really Worth?

 Many many people see the Amway plan, sign up in the hopes that Amway income will help them fulfill their dreams and that they will walk away from their jobs and collect lifelong residual income while walking the beaches of the world. Sadly, most IBOs will never even sponsor a single downline. These IBOs may continue in the business for a while but will eventually quit when they see the writing on the wall. Someone mentioned on another forum that people who want to work 2-5 years and do nothing thereafter are probably lazy and therefore, are not capable of achieving much anyway, much less in Amway. And in reality, in what business can you really "walk away" after 2-5 years and prosper?  

First off, 2-5 years basically sounds like a get rich quick scam, which uplines downplay as "get rich slow" because they don't want to portray the Amway business as "too good to be true".  But they present the plan as very achievable, and it sounds good and looks good on paper until the rubber meets the road.   That's when a new IBO finds out that many potential prospects have a bad opinion about Amway or aren't at all interested in running a side business in addition to a job plus possibly mommy and daddy duties.

But wait, you're an "independent business owner". So if you actually achieve something in Amway, why not sell your business if you actually succeed instead of quitting, why not sell your Amway business? I wonder if any IBOs actually think about what their business is worth? I mean a diamond could sell their business and live large and happily ever after right? Here's some food for thought. Why are there instance of diamonds quitting or resigning from Amway? Why would they just quit when they could either walk away and collect an income "forever" or sell the business? I mean do IBOs ever stop and think about this? It is an honest and serious question that should get some consideration.

I believe diamonds quit and resign because their business is worth very little or nothing. And most Amway businesses do not even generate a net profit. For IBOs who are seriously pondering on this very important message, try looking up this topic in Amway's rules. There are very complicated steps to be taken when selling your Amway business as each person upline must be offered ownership (To the best of my understanding). This process can go on for a long time and the attrition of your business could render it worthless before you can find a buyer, if you have a buyer at all. Also, if you quit, the downline in your group would be surrendered to the immediate upline anyway. So why would your upline want to buy your business?  In fact, your upline would more likely discredit you so your downline just transfer to them instead of allowing you to gain any "residuals".

So IBOs, I ask you. What is your Amway business worth? You don't own your downline. They are independent owners like yourself. You should not have inventory, employees or some warehouse storage complex. Aside from the ability to add downline volume to your own, your Amway business likely has very little value in the real world. So IBOs and prospects, think about it for a minute. What is the value of your Amway business?

Is Amway Saturated?

 Imagine an island with 100 adult residents. One guy gets sponsored into Amway from a cousin in another area off the island. Well, the island residents are a pretty tight knit group, so the one IBO immediately sponsors his six best friends and eventually, all 100 island residents. They are all dead serious about the Amway business so they all work hard, but because everyone is an IBO, they can only self-consume 100 PV each. Thus the 100 IBOs (collectively) move 10,000 PV each month. The group as a whole generates about 30,000 BV and the group receives $7500 in bonus money from Amway. Of course, the first IBO sponsored is now a platinum receiving most of that money with the rest of the group receiving smaller bonuses.

Being serious Amway IBOs, they all get standing order, books of the month, and travel by air to functions. They pay on average about $250 a month for their Amway training/tools. Thus, the group pays about $25,000 a month for the training that will one day allow them to retire and quit their jobs. The island community is losing a net of $17,500 from their local economy each month. However, there is one resident IBO who is making a nice income urging everyone on. Let's evaluate the group.

The platinum IBO is making a nice income and will receive a $20,000 bonus at the end of the year. His 6 downline friends make just about enough to break even (approximately 1000 PV) or lose a little, although they are still spending about $300 a month on products. The rest of the residents have lost over $200,000 collectively ($17,500 a month). The guy who owned the local grocery store went out of business and all the entertainment related business went down because the residents had no disposable income to spend money on anything except for Amway related activities. Eventually they all quit, including the platinum because once his group quit, he too, began to lose money.

Now Amway defenders will cry that this could never happen, but it shows that even if you could get everyone in the US to join, this scenario is what would happen.  I believe the Amway name and reputation is for the most part, saturated in the US. Nearly everyone will have heard the Amway name and/or will know someone who had a brush with Amway. Because of the tool peddlers such as WWDB, BWW, or Network 21, there are likely millions of people in the US who ended up with a bad experience, perhaps tricked into attending a meeting, or lied to about something related to Amway.

While this story is fictional, it is what would happen if there was a city where everyone joined the business. It is what happens today. Few people benefit at the expense of their downline. And as usual, it is the tools that drive people to lose money - on Amway island, or anywhere else.  In any case, it illustrates that Amway may not saturated in terms of everyone being involved, but saturated to a point where many businesses are treading water.  My personal observation with no other factual basis, is that Amway venues seem to be getting smaller, meaning there are fewer IBOs and prospects to seek out.  This is based on what I see here where I live and comments about other functions that take place elsewhere. 

How Diamonds Get Wealthy?

 One of the things that many Amway IBOs do not understand is where the upline diamond profits actually come from. They think they will obtain passive residual income, but most do not understand how it works or where the money comes from. What most people see instead, is a photocopy of an upline's check, or they may see upline driving a nice car or something like that. They do not understand how the business works and the fact that there are two businesses at work. The Amway opportunity and the tools (business support materials) business. Frankly, most IBOs would be much better off giving their upline a check for $50 each month and never getting involved in the Amway opportunity to begin with.

Upline diamonds (or higher ups) earn some income from the movement of products. Amway returns about 33+% of their gross in the form of bonuses. Most (active business building) IBOs earn 3% while uplines split up the remaining 30% of the bonus. Not such a great deal when you think about it. Also, most IBOs overspend on Amway products. They are not simply replacing what they normally buy. If they did, then there would be tons of former IBOs continuing to move 100 PV or more. Instead, when an IBO quits, they either buy nothing from Amway anymore, or they may use a few products here and there. The opportunity and the way it is promoted simply creates an artificial demand for Amway products. If the products were so great, why then after 50 years of business, why the Amway sales aren't going through the roof if former Amway IBOs get hooked on the products and keep buying them? The answer is that they typically stop buying once the "dream" of residual income ends.

Then you have the tools business where IBOs don't even get a measly 3% of the profits. Uplines keep all of the tool profits. Also, the tools have a higher profit margin than Amway products. While this may seem acceptable on the surface, keep in mind that the tools are inefficient. There is no unbiased evidence that I know of that suggests that the tools create a natural progression of IBOs from 0 PV to diamond. I cannot name more than a few new diamonds in the US since I left the business in 1997 or 1998. And even if there were some new diamonds, I believe there were even more who quit or left Amway for other reasons. One might wonder why a diamond would quit in the first place if there really was residual passive income involved.

So where does upline profits come from? Simple, it comes directly out of the pockets of downline. If IBOs actually sold products, then some profits would come from sales and customers. Instead, most Amway sales are simply made from upline to downline. And virtually ALL sales in the tools business comes from upline to downline. Thus, many IBOs spend $250 to $300 a month on products and get back $10 if they reach 100 PV. Then you factor in the $100 to $250 monthly that IBOs typically spend on tools. Suddenly that cheap or no risk opportunity doesn't sound so cheap. And try working it for several years and IBOs can easily rack up tens of thousands of dollars of expenses or more.

That's where upline profits come from folks. Do the math, most IBOs truly would be better off giving upline a check for $50 a month and doing nothing else.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Happy thanksgiving from Joecool!  

It's nice to sit back and enjoy the company of family and friends.  I remember when I was an Amway IBO, I would always be thinking and scheming about how to get the next person to see the plan, or who would be open to hearing about Amway.  There was really no relaxing or just enjoying myself because there's no rest in Amway.

Now I can look back and see how silly and ridiculous I was, although I snapped out of it in less than a year.  And frankly, I would have snapped out of it sooner if I hadn't had some early success, going 4000 PV in about 6 months.  But even with that limited success and the excitement that goes with it, I still had this nagging feeling that something wasn't right about what was going on.   I guess a part of me saw these huge conventions and I knew that there was a lot of money to be made in these conventions and other functions.  But upline (at the time) lied right to our faces and said there was no profit made on tools and functions.  They said any profits made went to make our functions cheaper.  I thought that was odd because no functions were ever cheaper.

It wasn't until I had left Amway and the internet made it easy to find and receive information.  I started to research and found how big a scam the Amway tools and functions were.  All the upline lies were unraveled and after participation in some Amway forums, I started Joecool's blog.  My first blog was popular but it ended because the host shut down and I had no way to archive the information.  I started on blogger in 2009 and I have gotten several million site visitors since.  I haven't quit yet after all these years because I know that this blog has been useful to many people who found the information or confirmation they were seeking about Amway and the tool systems.

Although Amway defenders have attacked me in the past, even to the point where one "ibofightback" was called a cyber bully for attacking me with lies.  I pressed on because I knew that the information is helpful to many and in order to keep the blog relevant, I needed to post material every so often.  The real issues in Amway remain mostly the same, even though I've been out for many years now.  I did notice that Amway venues seem to be moving to smaller locations so I assume (at least in Hawaii). that the Amway business is shrinking if the function venues are smaller.  

Anway, to the blog readers, have a Happy Thanksgiving and a blessed holiday season! 

Amway IBOs And Taxes? LOL

 I always get a kick when Amway IBOs talk about how they get bigger tax refunds because of their Amway business. To me, a bigger tax refund is most likely and almost assuredly the result of suffering business losses in Amway. If you did not have a job and taxes withheld from your paycheck, and your only revenue was from Amway, you could only break even at best with no tax return, unless Amway corporation was withholding taxes for you. Most IBOs have jobs and their bigger tax refund is very likely because they reduced their tax liability by losing money in their Amway business.

It might be a good idea for IBOs to consult with a tax professional because they are likely assuming that anything associated with their Amway business is a legitimate tax deduction. In the past, many IBOs who were audited by the IRS had tax deductions disallowed because the deductions claimed by the IBOs were not seen as legitimate deductions by the IRS. Look at functions for example. They can be seen as a social event rather than a business convention. Did your business grow as a result of that function? Did your sales increase? For many IBOs, the answer is "no" and that could mean that your deduction is not a legitimate one. When you hear a standing order about some guy who was down and out but never quit and later went diamond. A nice and touching story, but did your sales increase as a result of that cd? If not, it may not be a legitimate deduction. The IRS is not in the business of handing out deductions because the expense was related to your Amway business. More than likely, you need to show that your expenses somehow helped to increase your business. As I said, it is probably wise for IBOs to seek tax advice from a tax professional rather than blindly following your upline's advice.

But IBOs, please do not try to fool everyone into thinking that you have a profitable Amway business if you are reconciling your taxes at the end of the year and then getting a larger tax refund as a result of your Amway business profits. You are more than likely gaining a bigger tax refund because your lost money running your Amway business and the business losses reduces your tax liability from the income you earned from your job. If you were making some money in Amway, after subtracting expenses, you would have to pay more taxes, at least in the US. The more you make, the more Uncle Sam takes. All too often I have seen IBOs brag about their profits from their Amway business and in the same breath, they talk about getting a bigger tax refund. It doesn't add up.

It doesn't add up, but at least for me, there is some entertainment value from seeing IBOs make a case for a bigger tax refund, all because of their Amway business.  It's amazing that IBOs themselves do not see through this obvious BS.  But hey, "ain't it great"?

How About A Straight Answer?

 One of the humorous things about Amway IBOs is their ability to say a whole lot without having any substance. They'll talk about how great the business is and how much they have learned and then when you ask if they made any money, you either get dead silence or you get some answer about how they've seen a copy of a check from someone's upline diamond or something like that. But it's very rare that an IBO will be upfront about their earnings. Of course, I can understand that someone brand new might not have made a whole lot, but I have seen some IBOs outright lie and say they've been in Amway a month and they're making $5000 a month and they just started a few months ago or some other tall tale like that.  It could be they do this because some uplines teach "fake it till you make it".  That means to lie about your success in the hopes that your lies will someday become true.

Even when discussing some Amway released information such as the average earnings of an IBO, you can hear all kinds of excuses provided by Amway IBOs. They will make excuses like most IBOs do nothing. As if that isn't a problem in itself. Or they make stupid analogies about people signing up for a gym membership and then not doing anything. As if owning a business and exercising are the same thing. I even hear questionable claims about how so many people sign up as IBOs to get lower prices. I chuckle when I hear that because Amway's prices in general, are not competitive with big retailers. I believe that is because Amway must add the cost of IBO bonuses in the cost of their goods and services. While an IBO might save from the full retail price of Amway products, you can (in nearly all cases) find the same or a similar product cheaper online or at Walmart or some other big box retailer.  That's because the big box stores buy directly from the manufacturer in bulk and get big discounts.  Amway IBOs are just a middle man between Amway and their customers (most often themselves apparently?).

Another area where IBOs like to divert the discussion is when the discussion is about the success rate of IBOs in general. Based on Amway's own numbers, less than one half of one percent of IBOs reach the level of platinum (1 is about 400). Platinum is the level where allegedly, an IBO either breaks even or starts to make some net profit. It would depend on whether the IBO is involved in the tools and to what level of participation. But IBOs like to downplay this fact as if people simply did not work hard enough or did not learn enough, rather than simply acknowledging that the system itself might be flawed. 

The last area I see issues is when talking about selling products. I suspect that product sales to no IBOs is relatively small. I believe there may be some exceptional people who can sell, but people in general, do not like to or do not possess the skills to sell products. Yet I see IBOs making all kinds of stories about "selling" to customers. I rarely get a straight answer about product sales as well. The fact that many Amway IBOs can't give a straight answer is quite telling.  What say you, Amway IBOs?

Amway - The Game You Can't Win?

 When many people or prospects see the Amway plan, it sort of makes sense. You need to find six people to go direct, in 2-5 years and you have residual and willable income for life. You are then financially free and can spend your days walking on exotic beaches while checks keep coming in. This is what lures many prospects to take a better look and maybe even test the waters and give Amway a shot. After all, who wouldn't be interested in financial freedom and the ability to fulfill some of your ultimate dreams? Only a fool would turn down such an incredible opportunity, right?

While Amway looks good on paper, too many things derail this plan for financial freedom and untold wealth. Over the years I've been blogging, I've challenged Amway supporters to name a couple of people who are financially free and walking the beaches while income rolls in. Very predictably, nobody has identified a single person who achieved some high level in Amway and is sitting back relaxing while money keeps coming. We even see crown ambassadors passing away while still working the business.  Diamonds and other Amway big shots are constantly scrambling to attend meetings and functions (to make money) while they claim they are free.

So why can't IBOs achieve what they aspire to? Because in my opinion, the odds are stacked against them. Sure, a rare individual might go diamond, but the occurrence is very rare and almost as rare as winning the lottery, even though Amway is not a game of chance. I will go and list the reasons why IBOs are playing a game they can't win, even though they think they can. That is the sad part, that the upline is motivating downline to "never quit" even though they will "never succeed".

The system is set up for very few to succeed. Even in the common 6-4-2 plan where everyone did enough to earn a bonus, there is one person at the highest level with 78 downline who earn less. In real life, most IBOs do little or nothing. At Amway.com, you can see income disclosures that show how few people reach the higher levels. It's a tiny fraction of 1% that reach the higher levels. Even reaching platinum is a lofty achievement and platinum distributors might not even see a net profit due to business expenses.  And in case you didn't know, it is the platinum level IBOs who do the most work.

Business expenses such as product packs, catalogs, cds, books, voicemail and functions add up to significant expenses in the course of a month. If you're hoping to achieve financial freedom, you'll be expected to participate in the teaching system and more than likely, these expenses will be the reason for your business losses. Beware of upline who encourage you to go in debt to purchase training.

The products in general are not competitive. Sure, the Amway IBOs may give you some pitch about products being concentrated or of high quality but let's face it, consumers don't care about high quality soaps and household cleaners. There is nothing wrong with the similar products that you can purchase at Target or WalMart at a fraction of the cost. When your products can't compete on a level playing field, on what basis do you expect to sell these products? For that reason, many IBOs become "self consumers" and wind up with no actual customers.

Amway's reputation is soured. Most people know or know someone who had a bad experience with Amway. Due to past IBO behavior, people have developed a negative view of Amway. People being tricked or lied to in the past may have contributed to this issue. Add that to the fact that so few people actually make money turns this business into an almost insurmountable challenge. Even those who achieve often find themselves out of qualification shortly after.

For these reasons, my conclusion is that the Amway opportunity is a game that IBOs simply cannot win, even for those who learn from upline and put forth tremendous effort. And the longer you play. the bigger your losses become. Do your due diligence before undertaking any business opportunity.